A question my Wing Chun instructor posed to me many times was “why do you train?” At the time I don’t know that I had a reason outside of I simply wanted to.

I’ve always found martial arts interesting – i.e. “cool” – and as I’ve gone along I’ve found that’s as good of a reason as any to train.

Having realistic expectations for your training goals will keep you focused as well it will help you accept what you are and are not qualified to judge as you progress.

Functional Uses of the Martial Arts

There’s a lot of different reasons for studying, but from a high-level perspective here are the possible reasons to study:

• War – it’s in the name – the Arts of Mars
• Sport – take skills developed for war and adapt them to competition
• Policing – apprehend and get someone into the justice system
• Self-Protection – using physical force to keep yourself safe
• Bodyguarding – using physical force to keep others safe
• Self-Development – a catch-all for everything else

Looking at the list it’s easy to understand that there are different reasons for studying and that the reasons will dictate the focus of training.

A cop needs to rely on a different set of skills than a soldier.

When I started studying I needed something physical so I could get in-shape. Now I lean more toward understanding and cataloging methods from various systems.

Being Realistic

There’s a tendency for some teachers to try to be all things to all people – at least when teaching to make money is a goal.

But the realities of Self-Protection are a lot different than competing in a sport – are skills from one usable in the other – yes. But the assumptions surrounding them lead to different mindsets.

A competition match has an agreed upon set of rules – strikes and targets that are acceptable as well as unacceptable. The idea is to allow competitors to participate while keeping the risk of long-term injury to a low level.

Contrast sport with Self-Protection and the picture is quite a bit different. If you have to use force to defend yourself, then most likely you’re already at a disadvantage – i.e. you’ve been surprised, the attacker is bigger than you, there are multiple attackers, you’ve got small children with you, etc.

In a situation like that sudden, decisive violence needs to be used – usually resulting in long-term injury or worse.

Having Multiple Goals

There’s nothing wrong with having multiple goals for your training – i.e. getting in shape, competing for sport, and developing self-confidence.

But the goals need to be generally complimentary.

Building building battlefield skills while also wanting to be a Gold Medalist in the Olympics aren’t going to have a lot of similar touch points.

Yes, you can develop practical self-protection skills while still competing, and in-fact being in-shape is a big deterrent for would-be attackers. But then again, self-protection goes far beyond simple physical capabilities.

The Heart of the Matter

Ultimately you need to know why you’re training and you need to keep that at the forefront of your mind.

As well you need to take responsibility for your training and make sure you’re getting training that will help you in achieving your goals.

No particular reason is any better than the others.

But problems arise when instructors and students have delusions about what their systems can and can’t teach.

Until next time.